


Ghosts of the Empire

by Sharkspoons



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Diplomacy, Espionage, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Platonic Relationships, Politics, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trials, Unethical Experimentation, War Crimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27253261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharkspoons/pseuds/Sharkspoons
Summary: This is a post canon continuation of the comic 'Ruins of the Empire', so spoilers, obviously. It follows Korra as she attempts to navigate a tense diplomatic summit to discuss Kuvira's fate, and the difficult decisions and horrifying discoveries that made it nessecary. For the first time in her life, Korra must act alone and in secret, not only to protect the fragile peace in the Earth Kingdom, but also the one that she loves. With the help of two White Lotus agents, Korra must navigate the complexities of espionage and diplomacy, and come to terms with the weight of her decisions.
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Izumi/Kya II (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Arrival/Capture

\----- The present, 6 months after Kuvira's trial -----

Korra shifted in the metal seat she had bent for herself. The landing pad was wide and empty, and she was in no mood to meditate. She had curled up a section of platform into a crude S shaped chair. In hindsight, the chair was much too high, so that she had to half lean, half sit. She had been too prideful, or lazy, to stand up and fix it, but now it was starting to dig into her back. As she stood to adjust her handiwork she heard a light cough behind her. Korra jumped out of her seat, startled.

“Sorry, excuse me... Avatar ma'am." A young guard in a clean pressed green uniform stood timidly on the ramp.

“Oh hey, I didn’t see you there... I was just waiting for the Fire Lord’s airship to arrive”

“I...uh, guessed, I was actually here the last time” The boy shifted on his feet; she didn’t recognise him. “I wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind putting the landing pad back how you found it? The last time you waited here you left your um... chair, and well, I couldn’t smooth the metal back right. Sarge uh… he wasn’t pleased.”

Korra sucked air through her teeth, “I am so sorry, I will this time, I promise.” The boy looked barely eighteen, he didn't even have the spools of cable on his waist normally carried by the guard. It was likely he could metalbend in only the loosest sense of the term. Even then, smoothing metal like that is a tricky thing to do. There weren’t that many skilled metalbenders left in the Zaofu guard. “I just got so distracted, what with the airbender kids and all, but I'll put it back this time!” she scratched the back of her head and looked at her feet.

"Thank you, Avatar," he replied. The guard, either satisfied with her response, or more likely, lacking anything else to say, snapped to attention and marched down the ramp. Korra sighed; This is hell.

She had been the first to arrive in Zaofu, concluding her 5 months spent trawling the wilds of the continent. After the relative peace of the Earth Kingdom's interior, the tense atmosphere in Zaofu was almost too much to bear. Normally she would have found this a peaceful opportunity to relax with her second family, but the weight of it all was crushing. Everyone was trying so hard to be friendly, normal, trying to ignore the fact that in a few days the facade of civility would be cast off, and her friends would be at each other's throats. She had tried to distract herself, but every time she did reality came crashing back, worse than before, it was easier just to sit and bear it.

Hence why she was out here, again, waiting for a ship that wasn't due to arrive for another hour. It was as good an excuse as any to finally get some peace. Tenzin and the air nation had been the first delegation to arrive, hoping to show their commitment to the talks. Thinking back, Meelo trying to give her a piggyback ride down the ramp was likely why she forgot to unbend her chair. She shrugged and sat back down, and returned to staring down the valley. I miss the wilderness, she thought.

\----- 

Korra hurtled down the bank. Her feet planted, but the rest of her body loose, the earth shimmered and rolled beneath her like quicksand. She kept the upturned crags of rock to her right, and her eyes on the cloak that billowed out of the dust ahead. She burst out of the treeline onto a broad slope of ferns and scrub that stretched down into the valley below. She focused, and the loose soil and stones that she rode coalesced beneath her, forming two pillars that propelled her into the air. A quick burst of wind and she overtook the careening torrent of earth as it tore down the hillside, landing just ahead of it; enough time to consider her options.

She could see him now, through the spray of grit, and he her. His stance changed, ready to bring the full weight of his momentum into an enormous spike of earth. She decided to simply compress the soil in front of him, holding it firm. She pulled up her fists and dug into the ground. As he barrelled over it, the earth he expected to rise to meet him wrenched out of his control and instead pulled down. The man in the cloak spun forward. He landed hard, tumbled, and skidded, carving a trail through the bracken.

Pebbles, dust and uprooted plants rained down on them. Korra climbed up to where the man lay, his cloak now tangled around him. The man groaned and twisted beneath her. Most people would have died from a fall at that speed, but he had reactively bent the earth in front of him, leaving him curled in a small crater of soft loam and ferns.

"That's some impressive bending for a simple trader" she remarked. "Either you really are Major Lomi, or your village trains its militia very well". Korra looked up and whistled, back up the hill, the ridge he had rent from the earth stretched up into the mist. She realised how long she had chased him, and pondered how much time it might take to compress the remains of his heavy-handed escape attempt back into the ground. It would settle over time, but unless she walked all the way back up, tamping it back down, there would always be a marker of their long but one sided chase. Wherever you went in the earth kingdom, ancient battlefields pockmarked the landscape. Markers of wars no one remembers. This one didn't quite feel worth a monument, _Would Tenzin consider minor ecological restoration appropriate use of the avatar state_?

As she reflected on this, Naga bounded towards her through the thicket. "Hey girl, sorry we kinda left you behind there, I think our friend here was in a hurry." Naga cocked her head and set about sniffing the man, now coming to his senses. "Whaddaya think Naga? That him?" Naga howled and sat on her haunches, looking expectant.

"Don't you worry, I have more than hugs for you this time." She pulled a packet of seal jerky from her pocket, tossing pieces to Naga one by one. "This was fun while it lasted Major, but I don’t want to keep the White Lotus waiting." She kept her eyes on Naga, trying to remain calm, dispassionate. _Only justice will bring peace_ , she had been repeating the mantra for months, it had started to lose its meaning. For anything good to come of this, for some scrap of positivity, he needed to get back to Lengzhen in one piece. It was a long way to the nearest radio tower - it was a long way to anywhere - and she had to drag him there. They would already have to avoid roads and settlements, hurting him any more, no matter how much she wanted to, would only make that harder, and she was tired. Lomi, now looking up at her, tried to form words, but spluttered and coughed on the dirt in his mouth.

Finally he croaked "I.. swear, I didn't know what they were doing down there, I was doing what I was told, please."

\------

Korra stood impassive as the airship grew closer. Any feelings of excitement she had turned to dread as she realized, as soon as they walked down that ramp, there was no escape. She had spent several sleepless nights pondering the best excuse to jump ship and run. Perhaps her mother would feign an illness so she could flee to the south pole, or she could invent some spiritual emergency. One that would need her to go far away, alone, for long enough for this to be over before she returned. However, her fantasies of escape had remained just that, she'd dithered too long and now the moment was here.

The clang of the elevator behind her signalled the arrival of the welcoming party. Korra looked over her shoulder to see Suyin, Bataar, Wing and Wei, and several Zaofu officials filing out. Behind them came Tenzin and Jinora and a few air acolytes, and bringing up the rear, Master Rijo, Lei and Yura, dressed in crisp White Lotus robes. Korra kept her eyes on the airship as the party climbed up the ramp. She kicked down with her feet, sending her chair curling into the floor with a groan.

"Korra! You're here already... again" Suyin said, a slight note of motherly concern in her voice. “We waited for you before leaving, Tenzin thought you might have gone to meditate, but I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to be here”

"Well you know, I thought hey, maybe they’ll get here early and no one would be here to greet them. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing!" Korra laughed, probably too loudly. In her head it sounded desperately unconvincing. If the others noticed as they spread around the landing pad, they didn’t show it. Su smiled, “you must be excited to have everyone back, it’ll be just like old times, you’ll see.” Korra took a deep breath and subdued the urge to roll her eyes.

The White Lotus officials nodded their greetings to her and positioned themselves on the far side, while Tenzin and co made a beeline to where she was standing. “I thought you might not come, we’ve barely seen you since we got here.” He remained staring straight ahead, watching the airship make its final approach. He spoke softly, so Jinora couldn’t hear. “You’re not the only one who finds this whole situation… deeply uncomfortable. I understand if you’re nervous, this is not how I imagined your first foray into real diplomacy, but know that I'm confident in you. In us.” He let his words hang for a while before looking down at her. Korra avoided his gaze; if only ‘this whole situation’ was all she had to worry about.

“I just wish I knew whose side I'm supposed to be on, or what the sides even are. Everyone expects me to be impartial, but what does that even mean? What’s the point in me being here if I'm supposed to remain neutral? I just...” The loud whirring and clanging of the docking cables cut her thoughts short. The Fire Lord’s personal airship was massive, 12 rotors on each side and gilded end to end with gold dragons. It loomed overhead, casting them in a deep shadow.

The noise of the engines threatened to drown Tenzin out, and raised his voice to almost a shout. “Things will become clearer with time, this is why we’re here, remember. To talk. To find a solution we can all agree with.”

“And if we don’t?”

"We will, everyone here trusts each-"

Tenzin was cut off mid sentence. The ship’s ramp unfolded from the side of the gondola, and the doors slid open. Fire nation soldiers marched out, forming two rows on either side of the ramp. Fire Lord Izumi strode down the ramp, Iroh at her side, she walked ahead of a neat column of diplomats, sages, and assorted dignitaries. The column continued to pour out as Izumi reached the platform and Korra wondered if she had brought her entire court to Zaofu. She kept her eyes on the door, watching the stream of people who spread out into a long row behind their leader.

She was broken from her trance by Tenzin leaning to her ear. “You need to greet the Fire Lord with Suyin, we must introduce ourselves in order of rank.” Korra wanted to protest but Tenzin nudged her forward, and she saw Su looking at her expectantly. Korra joined her as Fire Lord Izumi approached.

“Fire Lord Izumi, I am honoured that you and your court would travel so far from your home in the name of peace, welcome to Zaofu.”

“Suyin, thank you for accepting our delegation into your home. I hope that we can work together towards a positive solution for all.” Izumi’s tone was calm and measured, her expression inscrutable. “Avatar Korra, it is good to see you here, your presence honours us all.” Izumi bowed to Korra.

“Likewise.” She was certain there was more expected of her, but the words didn’t come. She resorted to a deep bow, hoping that her taciturn reply came across as confidence as opposed to anxiety. Korra knew relatively little of Fire Nation etiquette, but understood that the rules of introduction were important, even now. As Avatar, Korra was the only person who could greet the Fire Lord alongside their host. Next came, Bataar, Master Rijo, and Tenzin - Izumi greeted them in turn.

“It is wonderful to see you again Tenzin, will Bumi and Kya be joining us? I haven’t seen the three of you all together since we were kids.” Her tone was noticeably lighter and friendlier addressing Tenzin. Korra was aware that they had all known each other since childhood, but other than that knew almost nothing about their relationship.

“Kya will be arriving in a few days with the Southern Water Tribe delegation, though she is not taking part in the talks. Unfortunately Bumi will be remaining in Republic City.” Tenzin paused, “he... volunteered to oversee the safety of the spirit portal.” Korra knew he was lying, Bumi had bolted as soon as he heard the words ‘vital diplomatic summit’. The greetings continued, Korra nodded a quick hello to Iroh, and went back to staring at the doorway. It was dark, empty, the last of the Fire Nation notables had filed out and were now beginning to mingle with the welcoming party. She wasn’t sure what she was more afraid of, the thought that no one else was coming out of the door, or that they were avoiding her.

Her attention was pulled by a trio of Fire Sages, all wanting to shake her hand. She saw them off as quickly as she could, internally screaming at them to leave her alone. Finally free, she looked back. The door was still empty. Su grasped her hand and drew her along to meet the most important members of the Fire Nation delegation. She did her best to look remain composed, but the crowd of people seemed to close in on her. She graciously accepted fawning compliments and shook more hands than she could count, all while nervously glancing over her shoulder. With the last diplomat successfully appeased, she turned around. She saw her, standing amidst an assorted group of people, all looking nervously down the ramp. The unaffiliated passengers not included in the royal delegation clearly did not know when, or if, they were to descend the ramp. As the delegations began to leave, the final group found the courage to disembark.

“Korra, are you coming?” Su was looking at her, she realised that almost everyone else was too.

“No, thank you, I'll join you all for dinner this evening." She could see Tenzin frowning at her, but kept silent.

Su glanced at the figure now running down the ramp. “Of course, don’t be late!”

Korra turned round, and there she was. Standing right in front of her, she didn’t know what to do with herself. _Say something you idiot_ , she yelled inwardly. “Hi... Asami. How was... how was your trip?”


	2. Reunion/Deception

\------

Asami laughed. "How was my trip? It was good, very comfortable." She smiled and cocked her head, "Is that all you're going to say?" Korra realised that she had not moved - she willed herself to speak. "I'm just... really happy to see you," she laughed and scratched the back of her head, "I can't believe it's been so long." Asami smiled sadly, and moved forward to wrap her in a warm embrace.

"I missed you too." The hug took Korra by surprise, and a wave of relief washed over her. She had run through awkward, stand-offish reunions in her head hundreds of times, now she could finally relax, at least for a while. She gave into Asami's embrace, burying her face into her shoulder. They barely noticed as the remaining passengers departed for the elevator, or as the crew of the ship began offloading luggage and cargo.

"We should probably get moving." Asami loosened the embrace, and they looked at each other for a moment, unsure and tense, before she pulled away. "They told me they'd take my luggage separately so we can just..." she pointed at the elevator.

"Oh yeah, let's go, Su's put us up in the main building, same wing as usual." Korra looked at her as they walked, she seemed so carefree, so, normal. Maybe this was all in her head, or Asami was a better actor than she knew. She caught her up on recent events as they walked to the station.

They sat next to each other in the empty monorail car, chatting quietly. She told her about her reunion with Tenzin and his family, how he had been trying to teach his children about the subtle art of diplomacy, and how Ikki and Meelo had driven him almost to tears for his efforts. She told her about her awkward encounter with the guard, and how the thought of seeing Asami again had led to her almost making a fool of herself in front of the Fire Lord.

"Ha! I'm glad I still have that effect on you, I was starting to worry." Asami's lighthearted mood melted her anxieties away, she forgot how much she loved to make her laugh.

"So what about you, how's the teaching life? _Professor Sato_ "

Asami chuckled, "You know no one there calls me that right? And technically speaking I am only an honorary professor."

"I would have thought that was the best kind you could be in the Fire Nation."

"Oh ha ha." Asami rolled her eyes. "That was terrible. And to answer your question, it's been great. To be honest I don't actually do that much teaching, if anything I'm the one who'se been learning. They do things so differently there, I've been able to make progress on projects I'd abandoned years ago." Korra watched Asami as she explained the numerous inventions and theories she had been testing, it all went over her head, but she enjoyed how she tried to act out the complex actions of machinery with her hands. "I've made some good friends there, it was nice to feel like I was living a normal life for a change." They sat in silence for a moment. A normal life, it hung in the air like a dead weight. When Asami finally spoke up, her tone was more serious, "you know there wasn't a day went by I didn't wish you were there with me, really. Quite a few days when I wished I was traipsing round the Earth Kingdom with you too. mostly the former though." They laughed.

"I don't think you'd have liked it, the southern Earth Kingdom in winter is no holiday destination. Besides, you didn't miss much."

"Speaking of, did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

\- 

“Such an incredible and unexpected honour. Avatar Korra herself in my very own home, please, come on through, set aside the worries of the road at our humble table!” Laozhu Fan gestured her through to a dining room with a long, low table. Laozhu was a small, plump man; a fact not hidden by his decision to wear the latest form-fitting fashions from Omashu. Servants buzzed around, laying out large trays of tea, sweet cakes, and platters of fruit. Korra had to awkwardly step around them to take a seat on a plump cushion.

“You are most gracious Master Laozhu, thank you for welcoming me in to your home." Laozhu beamed back at her.

"Of course, of course! It's not every day the Avatar appears on your doorstep, cold and weary. You know I met your predecessor once, when I was a young lad. He arrived in the village on that bison of his, spirits I had no idea such a thing could exist. The whole village came out to see him in hope that he would bless this barn or that calf." As Laozhu rambled on, Korra helped herself to the heaping piles of food, the servants now having retreated to the sides of the room. The subtle approach certainly does have its advantages, she thought to herself as she grabbed a pile of bean curd puffs. Laozhu's wife, Kyo, sat opposite Korra, watched approvingly as she devoured the food in front of her. Both said little, content to let Laozhu carry the conversation with stories of his youth and the latest town gossip.

"And then she said, 'well how much would I have to pay them to teach my son airbending? I don't see why Hung's son gets to learn it and mine doesn't!" Korra was almost crying with laughter. Despite her intentions here, she found herself genuinely enjoying the couple's company. Laozhu spoke energetically and without pause, except for the occasional humorous interjection from his wife. After weeks on the road, the company of kind, normal people was refreshing. Well, as normal as you could be with a dozen servants and a walled estate. "So Avatar, we never asked, what brings you to our sleepy corner of Xiang Zho province?"

"Well, I've spent so long in Republic City" she said in between mouthfuls, "I've never really seen much of the Earth Kingdom." _That's half true_ _,_ she told herself. "I'm on my way to see the Governor, I've heard there have been issues with the refugees passing through the province. What better way to see what's really going on than to travel through the province itself?" This however was a lie. She didn't like abusing the trust of these good-natured people, but she had promised to be discreet.

"Oh yes the refugees" Laozhu interjected. "Such a terrible crime those camps, so many with no homes to return to." Laozhu put his hand on his wife's "You know we did what we could to help. Most of our household staff left to work in Kuvira's facotries, so when the refugees came through town we took on as many as we could. Gave them work and a home." Korra looked up to the servants standing silently at the edges of the room. Some smiled lightly, others remained impassive. "They have been wonderful, and I must say, having Fire and Waterbenders on staff is such a help."

"Firebenders? This far east?"

"Yes, there were a few among the refugees. I must say, they're so helpful, it used to take the last maid an hour to light all the candles. Sheisan here gets it done with a flick of her wrist!" He gestured to a petite woman who stood with her head hung, hair covering her eyes - she gave a barely perceptible bow.

"She doesn't talk much, Shu bless her." Kyo looked with genuine affection at the woman, "Sheisan dear, would you pour the Avatar more tea?" The woman shuffled over to the table and began busying herself with the teapot, avoiding all eye contact with Korra. Normally she would insist on pouring her own tea, but she wanted to see how this played out.

"Do you have many firebenders on your estate Kyo?" Korra asked as she watched Heizo work.

"Well there's Sheisan, and Ozo works in the kitchen, most of the refugees were Southern Water Tribe originally."

Well, that makes things easier, but she needed to be sure. Korra pretended to pay attention to Kyo as she described her previous chef's indiscretions. Sheisan reached over to place the tea in front of her, Korra could see her better now. She looked young at first, with pale skin and deep black hair, but up close she could see the lines around her eyes, and strands of grey hair around her temple. Korra clenched her fist under the table, reaching out with the most subtle impulse of her bending. The ceramic cup slipped out of Sheisan's grip, sending it's contents spilling over Korra's lap. "OW!" she yelped and jumped back off the stool, pulling the scalding tea from her clothes to the floor with a flick of her wrist. _I guess I still need to practice my fine control_ , she thought to herself.

"Oh dear! Sheisan! You've burnt the Avatar!" Kyo looked aghast as Sheisan rambled apologies and tried to dab at the puddle with a rag.

"It's okay really, a shock is all. I just need some cold water." Korra looked Sheisan in the eyes and said "would you mind pointing me to the wash room?" The woman stared back, like a rabbit-deer caught in the headlights.

"Well Sheisan! Don't just stand there, take our guest to the fancy bathroom" Laozhu barked. Sheisan broke from her daze, and shuffled past Korra, leading her down a narrow corridor lined with artwork.

\------

Korra walked with Asami down the hall. They walked past guest rooms, busy with Fire Nation servants unpacking luggage, till they turned a corner to the wing of the estate that served as the Air Nation quarters, and where they had stayed on their previous visits. They had run out of things to catch each other up on for the moment, and there was an empty silence as they walked.

"Your room is just down at the end, Su put me in our old room." Korra bit her lip, they had to face it now.

"Thanks, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how we were going to do this. I take it that means Su knows?" Asami looked apprehensive now, her fingers twisting the curls of her hair.

"Just Su, and I didn't tell her much, but it won't be long before the others work it out." Korra wanted more than anything to invite Asami into her room, to forget anything had happened, to go back to normal. "Are we... are we going to be okay?"

Asami sighed. "Of course we are. I'll always love you, Korra, and I'll always be your friend. But, we need to talk. About how it's going to work. You and me, long term." Asami looked like she was visibly struggling to get the words out. "I know that the negotiations take priority right now. I respect that, I respect what you have to do. But I can't wait forever. Being apart from you was so difficult Korra, but I needed to prove to myself that I could do it, and I can. I have my own life, and I can be happy, but I want you to be a part of it, I really do."

Korra looked down at her feet. The weight felt like it could crush her. "We'll talk soon, I promise."

Asami smiled warmly. "Don't beat yourself up too much okay, it doesn't matter what we are, we'll always have each other." Korra had to forcibly stop herself from questioning her. "I'm going to freshen up before dinner, and tell Su she doesn't need to sit us apart. There's still loads I have to tell you." Asami leant over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Korra watched her walk down the hall.

-

Sheisan opened the door to the bathroom, igniting the candles with a snap of her fingers, and stood back, head bowed, eyes looking straight at the floor. Korra stepped behind her, pushing her firmly yet gently through and shutting the door behind them.

"Oh I... what are you doing?" Korra ignored her protest, she strode to the sink and gathered a ball of water. Sitting on the rim of a large bronze tub, she rolled up her trouser leg, the water began to glow and hum as it spread over the bright red mark on her thigh.

"Spirits that really hurt. Sorry, I just really needed to get some water on it" Korra said matter of factly. It was true, it stung badly, and it would keep her awake all night if she didn't treat it.

"I'm so sorry Avatar, I was clumsy. Do you... do you need me for something? I have to return to my duties." She shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"It's okay, I was the one who spilled it." Sheisan's gaze snapped up from the floor. "I know who you are, Zila, the scar on your neck, I saw it when you leant over." The woman was trembling now, her arm reached up and compulsively tugged the collar of her tunic up to her neck. "One of the guards, he saw you slip in with the refugees when the camp emptied." Korra stood, she had been prepared for a chase, for her quarry to bolt as soon as she said her name, but Zila was just standing there, quivering. Even knowing all she did, she couldn't help but pity the small, terrified woman. She looked so out of place amidst the gilded finery of Laozhu's mansion. Korra put her hand on Zila's shoulder, she loomed over her, and had to bend her knees to meet her gaze. When their eyes finally locked, she saw this woman was truly afraid of her.

"Please, just make it quick." She was struggling to talk between sobbing breaths. "Don't drag me out there, I don't want people to know. I want my sons to think I died in the war, or defected. They made me do it, they told me that if I didn't, Feng and Lo-Bin would go out on patrol and never come back."

This had Korra stunned, she knew how to deal with belligerent criminals and soldiers, not crying mothers. "I'm not going to kill you... we need to know what happened there. If you co-operate, we might..." Korra considered her words; it wasn't fair to offer promises she didn't know she could - or should - keep. "We might be able to hide your identity." She felt she would regret saying that down the line, but she was desperate for something, anything, to calm her down.

"What's going to happen to me?" Zila had gained some sense of composure.

"I'm here with the White Lotus. They will take you somewhere safe while we work out what we're going to do. You're going to have to answer questions, a lot of them, but you have my word as the Avatar you will be treated fairly. You have an opportunity to make things better Zila. Please, help me."

Zila took a deep, shaky breath, "okay." She looked Korra in the eyes, "when do we leave?"

-

"She's not coming." Yura said. The three of them sat at a table outside the Blind Badgermole, a hole in the wall tavern on the edge of town. Korra and Lei were playing Pai Sho on a travel board. Yura was sitting on top of a picnic table, chewing on a dried yam and sulking. "I know we told you, begged you even, to be subtle, but I can't believe you thought you could talk her in to giving herself up. She's probably half-way to the Fire Nation by now."

Lei pushed up his glasses. "I think Korra made the right decision, if she'd marched out of there with her, word would spread. The others would put two and two together and bolt for the mountains." Lei considered his next move carefully, running his hand over his close-cropped hair, eventually he settled on a play, and sat back, satisfied.

"Well that's not going to matter if we don't have her in the first place is it! Face it, the Avatar has been outplayed, just like every single one of your Pai Sho games." Yura unwrapped and redid the bands on her arm over and over, occasionally looking up the street. "I mean, what could she possibly gain from handing herself over!"

"Yura"

She furiously unwound the fabric, growing more frustrated. "I mean it's just ridiculous, you know we've been doing this for years before you showed up Korra, you could listen to us for once."

"Yura"

She threw the wrapping to the ground. "We've been quietly cleaning up messes all over the world and no one thanks us, no one respects what we do. Is it too much to ask to have your expertise acknowledged?"

"Yura!"

"What!?"

"Look." Lei pointed down the street. A small woman with a bag slung over her shoulder was walking towards the inn. She was looking right at them.

Yura's jaw dropped, "Well I'll be." She looked stunned. Lei glanced over to Korra, who was leaning back in her chair with her feet on the table, examining her nails with a smug look on her face.

"I have to admit Korra, I wasn't sure it would work, I'm impressed, really." Korra didn't respond, she just looked at Lei and pointed down the board. Lei's face sank, realising that he'd just lost. "What... how? When?" It was his turn to look stunned, Yura noticed and burst into laughter.

"Spirits Korra, you are going to be insufferably smug about this the whole way home, aren't you." Lei stood up, shaking his head, and pulled a set of manacles out from the ground by his feet.

Korra walked up to the woman and took her bag. She put one hand on her shoulder, "lets go Zila."


	3. Dinner/Situation

\------

Izumi had agreed to a small, private dinner. With the other delegations arriving soon, this was the only opportunity for Izumi, Tenzin and Suyin to speak as friends. Diplomatic negotiations require a certain degree of professional distance. Suyin and Bataar sat at the head of the horseshoe-shaped table, flanked by Izumi and Tenzin. On the far side, Wing and Wei sat transfixed as Iroh told stories of his fight against the Equalists. Master Rijo sat awkwardly between, unable to get a word in edgewise. Pema sat next to Tenzin, then Korra, who had let Rohan sit on her lap, then Asami’s empty seat. Crowded around the end were the airbender children. The Beifong estate had recently been expanded to accommodate the large number of guests, and to reflect Zaofu’s growing importance on the world stage. The family’s personal rooms had remained unchanged however, this was the same room that Korra had dined in on many occasions.

Asami had arrived in full makeup and a dark red gown and shawl. She was, as usual, struck by her beauty. At the same time, it was these moments when Korra appreciated how rarely people expected her to dress up; she had not even considered wearing a dress. Asami gave her a brief kiss on the cheek as she sat down. For appearances, Korra assured herself. “Sorry I’m late everyone, hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” She beamed at the assembled guests and poured a glass of water for from an ornate metal pitcher.

“It’s no worry at all, Asami dear, dinner is about to be served.” Su gave the two of them a slow, deliberate look. It was calculating and inscrutable underneath a sheen of motherly concern that almost compelled Korra to squirm. She still considered Su an important friend, but a clear distance had grown between them. A natural consequence of recent events, and one that she was certain would repair itself once things had settled down. In the meantime, however, Korra was beginning to understand just how formidable a presence Suyin Beifong could be. Her incredible success made a lot of sense to her, now that she had been on the recieving end of one of her signature gazes.

Asami scanned the room and leaned over to Korra. “I just realised that Huan isn’t here. Is he not joining us?” She asked, providing Korra a welcome distraction.

“Oh, did you not hear?” Asami shook her head. “Huan left, decided he agreed with Opal and stormed out a few weeks ago.” Korra had to whisper, not wanting was to sour the mood. “He moved to Lengzhen, set up some kind of art exhibit protesting... war? I guess?” Stormed out was an understatement, workers had been removing the torn up remains of his statue garden when she arrived.

Asami looked intrigued, “I swear, just when I think I have a handle on what’s going on.” Leaning back in her chair, she exhaled. “Couldn’t have imagined it would end up like this.”

-

A light woke Korra from her sleep. She waved her arm behind her and felt Asami still there, facing away from her. The light came from the door, open just a crack. She shifted herself up on the pillows. “Wha.. who? Ugh.” The door opened wider, Korra could hear Asami snoring, fast asleep.

“Korra, get out of bed, you’re needed,” a voice whispered from the crack in the door. Still groggy, she couldn’t tell who was speaking. She glanced at the clock on the wall, it was past one in the morning. She forced herself to swing her legs over the side and groped around for her robe in the dark. The person saw her stand up and let the door swing shut, meaning she had to feel her way over.

Korra opened the door wide enough to poke her head out, the light of the hallway near blinding her. Stood by the wall, arms crossed, head down and looking into space, was Yura. She was well built, with a wide angular face and deep sapphire eyes that rested into an expression of permanent irritation. Now however she looked worried, strands of chestnut hair fell from her usually neat bun, and her legs were caked in dust and soot. She was wearing a plain field uniform - a blue double-breasted jacket, white trousers and long cavalry boots. The insignia on her shoulder, the White Lotus inside a dark red triangle, was the only marker of her affiliation. “Yura? What... what’s going on? I thought you were in Gaoling.”

Yura met her gaze, “we have a... situation,” she said in a flat whisper.

“What? Are we under attack, has Kuvira escaped? We just got her here!” Korra moved out of the room, rubbing her eyes, not sure if she was awake.

Yura’s eyes flashed with panic. She hushed her, “no, not that kind of situation. I can’t explain here.” Yura looked past Korra into the bedroom where Asami lay sleeping. “You need to come to our room, I’ll explain everything there. And no, it can’t wait till morning.”

Korra followed her gaze and looked back at her girlfriend, “anything you need to tell me you can tell her. If it’s that important then I want her input.” She turned to wake Asami, but Yura grabbed her shoulder.

“No. If you want to tell her, wait till morning. But trust me, you need to see for yourself.” Yura had clearly had enough. She sounded impatient, but there was a crack to her voice. Whatever it was, it had left her shaken, something Korra realised she had never seen.

“Fine, give me a moment.” Korra went back into their room and pulled on her boots in the dark. She groped around in a cupboard and threw one of Asami’s coats over her pyjamas. Deciding against waking her, she gave her a light kiss on the forehead. Asami groaned and muttered before falling back into sleep. When she sneaked back outside, Yura was pacing back and forth, tugging on her sleeve and biting her lip. “Let’s go.” She strode off down the hallway, Korra had to jog to catch up. They didn’t speak as they made their way out of the main building to an annex that served as the agent’s quarters. Whenever they came to a corner Yura would slow down, peek past, and then head on when she was satisfied the coast was clear.

Korra looked again at the patch on Yura’s arm. The insignia of the Garden Gate, a unique chapter of the White Lotus. While the White Lotus had transitioned into an open, international peacekeeping force under Avatar Aang, it maintained many aspects of its roots as a secret society. Each major chapter was self organising and responsible for any facilities or prisons in its region. Leadership of the organisation was formed of a council made up of the heads of each chapter, from whom they chose the Grand Lotus. Only the Garden Gate answered directly to the council.

They served as messengers, observers and representatives that connected the chapters together and ensured consistency across the organisation. Membership in the Garden Gate was not considered an honour and held no path to leadership. Busybodies and errand runners, the true Masters called them. But, among the proteges who formed its bulk, a minority were secretly the most intelligent and talented the order had to offer. They used the anonymity and flexibility of their role to serve as the personal eyes and ears of the council. These agents operated with a significant amount of autonomy to gather information and, on occasion, clear up messes before they spilled out of control.

Yura and Lei had been sent to Gaoling to comb over what was left of Guan’s operation. After the Gaoling crisis, no one had fully trusted the Earth Kingdom, even under King Wu, to live up to its promise of destroying the brainwashing apparatus and all related research. And so it had been decided that the White Lotus must ensure that it was never used again. While they had set about demolishing Guan’s fort, the Garden Gate had seized every last document not relating to the mind control research. The agents, along with their mentor Master Rijo, had already played a role in the Peace and Reconciliation trials that had been running in Ba Sing Se for months since Kuvira’s surrender. Suyin had happily allowed them to use Zaofu as their base of operations.

Yura led her through the gardens to the south of the estate. Though in theory the White Lotus served the Avatar, she suspected that many in the order still considered her the same brash, headstrong girl who had given them so much grief in the past. Master Rijo was no exception to this. Korra’s head swam, trying to think what would make him send Yura to wake her in the middle of the night. They didn’t have far to walk, but they had circled the estate to get to the other side. Korra had tried to ask why they were sneaking, but was shushed every time she opened her mouth.

After waiting for a nearby guard to patrol round a corner, they reached the guest house that Yura and Lei shared. Despite everything, she was excited to learn if they shared a bed. Yura took one final peek behind them and ushered Korra into their room.

\------

The conversation over dinner remained light; gossip about the latest movers or news from the capital. Next to her, Asami was telling Jinora about her work at the Keosho School of Engineering. Korra listened, content letting others carry the conversation, until she realised they had been talking about new designs for wingsuits through the entire third course. Rohan was busy making abstract art out of pureed dragon fruit. She leaned forward and saw Ikki and Meelo competing to see who could balance the most peanuts on a single pocket of air. She heard a roar of laughter coming from the head of the table and turned to find Izumi mid story, struggling to get words out between laughs, while Tenzin sat with his arms folded, looking unamused.

“So she was standing there by the window, much too short to look in, so she tries to scramble up the side.” Suyin had her hands over her face to stifle her giggling, while Pema and Bataar listened enraptured. “Of course she kept falling off. So then she started just, jumping up and down, trying to peek in” Izumi mimed bouncing up and down in her chair, Korra had never seen her so animated. “Eventually I was just too curious, I had to know what she was doing. I got right up behind her and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Spirits, you should have seen her. She went redder than a beetroot! I want to say I gave her a stern lecture on privacy, but I was only a teenager myself. I peek through the window, and what do my eyes regard?” Izumi took on a theatric tone, as Tenzin sank into his chair. “The world’s first airbending master in a generation, practising his Ba Sing Se Waltz in his underwear.” Everyone except Tenzin burst into laughter.

“Okay,” Korra chimed up, “if we’re laughing at Tenzin I need to involved.” Tenzin groaned and turned away from her. Korra scooted her chair closer and rested her elbows on the table.

Izumi let out a long final laugh, “I was just telling Pema and Bataar about our last holiday on Ember Island together. Of course it was our dear hostess I caught peeping on Tenzin in his room.” She had to take deep breaths in to calm herself, Korra never knew the Fire Lord could be so boisterous.

“Oh give over Izumi,” Su retorted, her face flushed red, “I was ten years old, I was just... curious, that’s all.”

“Ha! You were besotted with Tenzin, everyone could see it. Except Tenzin, of course.” Izumi turned to Korra “We’d all gone there to celebrate him getting his tattoos. He strutted around shirtless the whole the time like we coudn’t tell he was showing off.”

“It was Ember Island! it was warm!” Tenzin huffed, and folded his arms, aware that the conversation was now solely at his expense. Pema leaned over and put a hand on his arm.

“Honey, what did I tell you, the more you fight it, the funnier it becomes for everyone else.” Pema gave up trying to hold in her laughter, “you make it so easy to laugh at you!”

Su, having taken a large gulp of wine, spoke up, “it’s true though, I was smitten with Tenzin. As soon as Lin showed any interest in him I decided he was the most amazing person in the world and he had to be mine.” Korra listened, captivated, while Rohan squirmed on her lap. “I used to dream of the day he’d finally notice me and dump my stuffy old sister.” Su put a hand to her brow and threw her head back in a mocking display, “but alas, it didn’t matter how many love poems I slipped under his door, he never returned my affections.” She dropped her act and picked up her glass “of course it might have also been the fact he was 7 years older than me.”

“Wait, wait, wait, you wrote him love poetry?” Korra had decided she needed to know every embarrassing secret of her former teacher’s youth. Suyin nodded over her drink.

“I thought you wanted constructive criticism!” Tenzin groaned.

Suyin chuckled, “yes, and you sent them back to me with pages of notes on my composition, I thought you were telling me to try harder!”

Korra realised then that everyone else in the room had been listening for some time, and the entire room burst into a chorus of laughter, Ikki and Meelo taunting their father from across the room. Even Master Rijo couldn’t help but chuckle. Asami leaned over to Korra, and whispered in her ear, “I thought they were going to be at each other’s throats.”

Korra leaned towards her and raised an eyebrow. “Just as long as no one mentions Kuvira we should be okay. Or Opal. Or Huan. Or literally anything that has happened in the last 6 months, and as long as Rijo stays quiet. Oh, and as long as Su doesn’t have too much to drink... just try to keep them on childhood stories and we should be fine.”

Asami exhaled, “and here I thought our last visit was tense.”

  
-

Yura closed the door behind them. Inside, Korra saw Lei leaning over a table covered in papers, every side of the room was piled high with stacks of boxes and folders. On the far wall, a map of the southern Earth Kingdom was covered with pins and lines of string. Before she had even a moment to say anything, Lei spoke directly to Yura.

“Did anyone see you? Were you followed?”. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and his shirt unbuttoned at the top.

Yura had pushed past Korra and was peeking out of the curtains. “No, I think we’re good.”

Korra was still half asleep. She had followed Yura almost in a daze, but now frustration overrode her tiredness. She strode up to the table and drew herself up to her full height. Lei was almost a full head taller than her, but he shrank at her approach. “Alright, you better tell me what’s going on right now.” She looked at Yura, “where is Master Rijo?”

Yura looked over to Lei. She folded her arms and nodded at him. “Master Rijo is asleep in the next building, and he doesn’t know we’re here. So keep your voice down.” Korra screwed up her face. This was only getting weirder, she thought to herself. “We took this straight to you, as the Avatar we think you should be the first to find out.” Lei started arranging documents on the desk in front of him, while Yura took a seat on a stack of boxes. “We’re taking an enormous risk doing this, hence the secrecy.”

Korra felt a pit rising in her gut. She had known Yura and Lei since childhood, for a brief period they had trained with her at the White Lotus compound at the South Pole. The Masters had hoped that having two of their brightest young protégés would inspire Korra in her academic studies. Instead, all they achieved was to make her feel even dimmer and reinforce her dislike of her non-bending related education. Despite this, they were the only other children in the compound, albeit several years older than her, and she had felt a burning desire to impress them, to make them like her. Her main method of achieving this was beating the snot out of them in sparring matches. They never warmed to her, always referring to her by her title, and she had grown intensley jealous of their friendship with each other. Only looking back did she realise that they had been wary of getting close to her; their dedication to succeed, and to the White Lotus, came before anything. They did as they were told, and never treated her as anything other than the Avatar in training.

“So what is it then?” Korra said, her patience running short. “I barely see you for 8 years and now you drag me out of bed behind your boss’ back?”

Lei looked at Yura again, yet more raised eyebrows and nods. “After Kuvira surrendered, word spread fast. Her commanders could see the writing on the wall. We think she might have left standing orders to destroy evidence, we really don’t know.” He talked like he’d practised his words. “They had their correspondence burnt, they emptied the camps and scattered the refugees, destroyed records and manifests. It was sloppy, but effective. We still don’t have a clear picture of Kuvira’s operation.”

“But Guan’s officers never had the chance. We seized the fort straight away.” Korra finished his story for him. She was beginning to see where this was going.

Lei nodded. “The evidence we pulled, it fills in gaps almost everywhere. Gaoling was a major nerve centre for Kuvira’s southern operations. However, what we found... it’s worse than brainwashing.” He looked down, fidgeting with the folder in his hands. “We found these in a footlocker belonging to one of the scientists.” He handed it to her, like he was passing a delicate vase. Inside the folder were handwritten letters, occasional graphs or documents, nothing that stood out to her. She picked a letter at random, but it was like an alien language to her.

“What am I looking at here?” She shrugged, scratching her head, “this technological mumbo jumbo isn’t really my thing.”

Yura gave a sober chuckle and pointed at the folder, “there are pictures near the back.” As Korra rifled through the pages, Yura continued Lei’s speech. “Our author was exchanging letters in secret with another scientist, someone named Zila.” As Korra flipped through to the end she fumbled, and a slew of small black and white pictures spilled out onto the table. She arranged them on the table. At first they just seemed like vague shapes, but as she looked closer she could see faces, arms, legs, close-ups of eyes, the lids drawn back. When it all came together, she recoiled back in shock, covering her mouth. The two agents sat still, eyes cast down, saying nothing.

Korra could feel the bile rising in her stomach. She had seen nothing so horrific in her life. She sat down on a small stool and ran her hands through her hair. After a minute of sombre silence, Lei spoke up, “are you alright Korra? Do you want me to get you some water?” Korra shook her head.

“What... what did they do to those people? Why?” Her voice was small, weary. She was unsure if it was tiredness or shock, but anger didn’t come to her. Instead, she just felt sickened and frustrated. Nothing could ever stay finished.

She saw them exchange another look; they silently agreed it was Yura’s turn. “We don’t know, not exactly. Experiments on people, that’s for sure. It was also top secret, I doubt Guan knew, but we have no clue what their goal was.”

Lei continued, “but we do have a location.” He sounded almost excited now “The letters don’t mention explicitly, but they do indicate that it was underground. They also discuss the equipment they were using, we were able to cross reference with delivery manifests.” Lei pulled another folder from the sprawl. “A lot of equipment not used anywhere else was being delivered to Camp 14, near Lengzhen. It must have been underneath it... to make use of the... prisoners.” He trailed off, aware that not everyone got as excited as he did about paperwork.

Korra sat for some time, her head in her hands, trying to think. She stared at the photos on the table, but nothing came to her, her mind was blank. They’d known that the conditions in the ‘re-education’ camps had been atrocious, but they were more neglectful and crowded than wilfully inhumane. Kuvira hadn’t the infrastructure to manage the huge numbers sent there and hadn’t cared enough to stop. This was different. She looked up, and once again Yura and Lei were having a silent conversation with their eyes. For reasons she couldn’t pin down, it was deeply irritating. “There’s something else you’re not telling me isn’t there. I mean, why bring me here in secret, why not show this to Rijo, or Suyin?” She rose from the stool, staring them dead in the eyes.

Lei ran his fingers over his scalp and bit his lip. Yura slid off the pile of boxes she had perched on, glanced one last time at Lei, and walked up to Korra. She pressed her lips together, furrowed her brow and took a deep breath before speaking. “We brought you here alone... because you deserve to make this choice. Before the others make it for you. We joined the White Lotus to serve the Avatar, but this effects you Korra. Personally.” Yura gulped; she spoke as if every word was an effort. “We know we weren’t exactly the best of friends growing up, but... we care about you, in our own way.”

Lei moved around the table and gathered up a few papers, before handing them to Korra. “You remember those delivery manifests we mentioned? The special equipment they were using? Look there.” Korra examined the document, eyes darting across the page. It was a list of goods and serial numbers: 8 industrial pumps, 2 acoustic wave oscillators, 458 high powered magnets, a reverse pulse inhibitor. Near the bottom of the page, she found it.

MANUFACTUROR: FUTURE INDUSTRIES INC

Her heart sank and a yawning pit opened in her chest. She covered her mouth with her palm. “No. Asami doesn’t have anything to do with this, she can’t have.” Her grip tightened on the paper. “Has anyone else seen this?”

Yura grimaced, frozen. “No, we came straight to you.”

“And is there anything else that links to Future Industries?”

“Not here. But if the lab is still standing...” Korra stared unblinking at the words. She started to tremble, her eyes narrowed, and a small black spot grew over the page. “Korra, are you sure that’s how you want to play this?” Yura tugged on her sleeve, eyeing the now smouldering paper warily. “This might look bad, but we could spin this. Someone in Future Industries was going behind Asami’s back, and if we find out who, then we can prevent too much damage.” The spot grew, and in its centre, a glowing orange ring swelled.

“We’re finding this facility. Tonight.” The pages in Korra’s hand burst in a flash that stung her eyes. “No one outside this room can find out.”


End file.
